Exclusive: Egypt sneaky strategy against Ethiopia

Photo: AP/MENA, Mohammed SamahaKampala, March 5, 2017 (SSNA) – In an exclusive interview on Sunday, a former Ugandan intelligence agent told the South Sudan News Agency (SSNA) that Egyptian government is actively pursuing a sneaky military strategy against Ethiopia’s Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) and that Egypt is also assisting South Sudanese government in its war against the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement/Army-In Opposition (SPLM/A-IO).

James Moises, the former intelligence operative alleges that Egypt and Uganda mutually agreed last year to achieve what he described as “two different interests. Moises went into details, explaining why Uganda and Egypt joined forces against Ethiopia and South Sudan’s armed opposition.

“First of all, Egypt’s diplomatic campaign to stop Ethiopia from constructing GERD has failed. Secondly, Uganda failed to destroy South Sudanese rebels. These two different interests are the ones uniting Cairo and Kampala,” Moises said. Adding, “Addis Ababa must not believe Cairo and Kampala when talking about anything related to GERD.”

“This is a sneaky strategy against the Ethiopian government,” he asserted.

Moises revealed to the SSNA during the interview that Ugandan President first proposed to the Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi in December 2016 that if Cairo agrees to give Juba weapons and ammunition it wants to defeat the SPLM/A-IO, then Uganda would support any campaign Egypt wants against Addis Ababa. He further disclosed that Museveni even promised el-Sisi that he has what it takes to bring on board other East African countries to back-up Cairo.

Egypt supplies South Sudan with weapons and ammunition

Moises also disclosed that Egypt is supplying South Sudan with sophisticated weapons, ammunition, and modern military equipment, adding “Kampala manages Cairo military aid to South Sudanese government.”

This is not the first time James Moises make claims like these.

In July 2013, about four months before South Sudan civil war broke out; he wrote an article exposing Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni meddling in South Sudan internal affairs. His piece caused panic in the entire East African region and around the world and widely credited for exposing Uganda’s troops present in South Sudan before the war erupted.

Moises also warned in November 2015 that the August 2015 peace deal would not succeed, saying South Sudanese president Salva Kiir and his Ugandan counterpart Museveni had already drawn up a plan to prevent the implementation of the agreement. He then disclosed that Kiir and Museveni’s scheme to frustrate peace implementation would include first agreeing to IGAD and the international community brokered demands, allow rebels to come to Juba, and then start a war in the capital.

Last month, the rebel military command accused Egyptian air force of carrying out air attacks on its positions in Kaka town in Upper Nile. Cairo denied the allegations.

South Sudanese rebels also alleged in January that Egypt and South Sudan had strike a dirty deal, alleging the pact between the two countries includes a secret sabotage campaign against Ethiopia’s GERD.